This is my question. I've asked it several times before, but people keep answering that a period and a capital to start a new sentence will do better, or that a comma and a conjunction will do better. The people who say that must have tin ears. The semicolon does a job that is NOT duplicated by other punctuation. It provides a pause between a period and a comma. More than that, it provides a tantalizing expectation of more to come; the thought is not finished; here's more. (See what I did there?) Semicolons are useful. More than that, they're cool. They expand the pace and rhythm arsenal we have as writers. But why do I have to argue for their acceptance? They're already part of the language. Let those who oppose their use argue for their rejection. Let them try to convince us that a perfectly good punctuation tool must be removed from usage.
The argument is not that semi-colons themselves are going to cause weak writing. The argument is that improper use of semicolons will weaken your writing. Many people don't understand the actual, intended use of a semi-colon. They aren't the same as a period or a comma/conjunction, but some people use them as such (I admit myself guilty of this). It weakens your writing when you improperly use a grammar tool.
So, instead of recommending that they not be used, maybe we should be teaching people to use them properly.
I do think the semicolon is dying out. I don't see it used as much today. I guess people see it as being indecisive. I remember that I never really learned about semicolons in school. We went over proper usage briefly, and that was that. I found two quotes on semicolons that I thought are worth sharing. "With educated people, I suppose, punctuation is a matter of rule; with me it is a matter of feeling. But I must say I have a great respect for the semi-colon; it's a useful little chap." - Abraham Lincoln "You practically do not use semicolons at all. This is a symptom of mental defectiveness, probably induced by camp life." - George Bernard Shaw in a letter to T.E. Lawrence
"I have grown fond of semicolons in recent years. The semicolon tells you that there is still some question about the preceding full sentence; something needs to be added; it reminds you sometimes of the Greek usage. It is almost always a greater pleasure to come across a semicolon than a period. The period tells you that that is that; if you didn't get all the meaning you wanted or expected, anyway you got all the writer intended to parcel out and now you have to move along. But with a semicolon there you get a pleasant little feeling of expectancy; there is more to come; to read on; it will get clearer." - Lewis Thomas
Semicolons frequently tend to be used to fix two thoughts or undeveloped sentences together that really would be better thought through fully and expressed as one coherent sentence, even if the writer is following the established conventions of punctuation. That makes them a classic copout. Frequent m-dashes are the same thing. And don't get me started on ellipses...
I have a feeling you'd really hate the novel Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine. Pretty much every bit of dialogue has ellipses.
"But I... I ... I hate chicken soup," Whiney McNab said. "But I." She paused. "I." She paused again. "I hate chicken soup," Whiney McNab said. I think I'll stick to using ellipses-es; they're even more fun than semicolons. Also, can anyone provide a really good resource for using em and en dashes? I've read and read but I've gotten conflicting reports.
Try: "But I... I... I hate chicken soup," Whiney McNab said. "But I--I hate chicken soup," Whiney McNab said. "But I...." She paused. "I...." She paused again. "I hate chicken soup," Whiney McNab said.
They are seldom needed, but when they are, nothing else will do. I use them when appropriate, not too often.
Em dashes are used to denote interruptions in dialogue, while...ellipses, are used for pauses in speech like when someone is thinking of what to say next, or when they trail off into thought mid sentence. And...you shouldn't leave a space between the ellipses and the next word.
... Well the first one was exactly the same... Why do you have an ellipses before "she paused"?... Seems rather unorthodox to highlight what is already read as a pause.
No, that is not correct. In British punctuation we leave a gap as I have done it. @ AVCortez: Look again at the gaps in that sentence with ellipses. And you worded the sentence with the "she paused" repeated twice, I just punctuated it correctly. You are right, it looks ridiculous, and should be worded differently.
There a few minor differences between American and British rules of grammar: it is difficult to know who is British and who is American when posting on a site where the two coexist. And I wasn't sure where "The shadow of the velvet fortress" was; but now, I am assuming that it would be in England.
^^ You are right, I often wish there was some way we could indicate next to our avatar whether we used British or US English. Actually, I live in Turkey now, but my family are (mostly) English and I went (mostly) to school in England. The velvet fortress stands on the mountain overlooking the town. A jin lives there, but I can't tell you more because he's in a YA novel I hope to finish next year (although at the rate I go it will be more like 3 years).
You are exactly right. I'd give my own examples, but it's not necessary. Anyone can find them on Google if they are that serious on using them. If you know how to use them, then there should be no how to use them. But if you don't know how to use them, you don't have to. Not having them doesn't hurt your writing if you are a good writer; having them merely adds to the variety, structure, and pace when used correctly. Good punctuation is the punctuation readers never notice.
This is another response I really respect a lot. One of the attributes of good writing is concise clarity. If the thought can be fully expressed more clearly as one sentence, then perhaps it should be reworked to meet that end.
Oh I see, yeah sorry, that was a typo. I worded the sentence like that to illustrate the use of beats instead of an ellipses when showing pauses. The way you worded it was in essence; she paused she paused. So, quite redundant. It was intended to look stupid.... It only came about because you said... Stay tuned for the next episode of: When tongue in cheek goes wrong A The Internet Production. I just assumed everyone left a space, but...auto-correct...seems...to...think...this...is...fine... Weird. I know! I wish someone would do that for every piece of punctuation... I would buy that book. On a side note to this discussion, here's a picture of me using punctuation:
Fiction or non fiction, shouldn't the rules of punctuation apply to all? That is a genuine question, as i am no expert.
